Inside the late Renaissance palace of Cardinal Altemps, in the heart of Rome, just steps from Piazza Navona, are preserved some of the most important historical collections of ancient sculpture, including valuable Egyptian artifacts.
Among them, the most famous is the 17th-century collection of ancient sculpture of the Boncompagni Ludovisi family, which includes masterpieces from Magna Graecia such as the renowned Ludovisi Throne from the 5th century BC.
The collection also includes Hellenistic works such as the Ares and the group with the Dying Gaul, Roman creations like the colossal head of Juno so admired by Goethe or the grand sarcophagus known as the “Great Ludovisi,” which marvelously celebrates the victory over the barbarians. Other sculptures from the Republican and Imperial periods, often complemented by important Baroque sculptors of the time like Bernini and Algardi, dominate the center of large frescoed rooms overlooking a gallery painted like a secret garden of delights, enriched by a gallery of portraits of the Caesars.
The tour concludes in the inner courtyard, an example of 16th-century architectural balance, where the original placement of statues under the portico arches has been preserved.
